The following blog post features some of the exercises which I have used in the past to calm myself during an anxiety attack. Most people experience some anxiety attacks in their life-time
―and some can be more extreme than others. I remember a particular episode when a panic attack was so bad out in public that a friend had to come into my toilet cubicle to look after me. My friend sat with me and helped me to focus on my breathing until the attack finally left.
One of the scariest things about anxiety attacks is that we feel we can't take in enough air or control how fast our heart seems to beat
―and this is because our breathing changes and gets shallower. By following the breathing exercise below, you'll be able to regulate your breathing, get more oxygen to all parts of your body and calm yourself down.
Trust me, these do work. Last year, I experienced a plethora of anxiety attacks and felt insecure a lot of the time, but I've been working hard to rectify this and the effects are very noticeable. The following tips are designed to help you during an anxiety attack; however, I also want to help you so that you can stop experiencing those anxiety episodes altogether.
Anxiety comes from feeling out of control. When we start to fear that something is going to happen (or someone else is going to do something) which is beyond our control, we panic and that can lead to spells of anxiety. The important thing to remember, though, is that you are always in control. You might not be able to control the circumstances surrounding you...but you can control how
you react to them.
Remember, you are not alone. There might be times when you feel utterly lost in a dark labyrinth but that is not reality. In reality, there are friends, family members or support groups available to help you. There are so many self-help books and articles on the web, too. Although only you can ultimately overcome the anxiety attacks, there is a lot of support out there to aid you.
1) Breathing:
Breathing immediately gets harder during a panic attack. You feel like you aren't getting enough air in, so you panic even more, and end up taking in shallower breaths at an accelerated rate. The good news is that you can stop this cycle.
Simply breathe in through your nose for seven seconds, hold for three seconds, and then slowly exhale through your mouth for eight seconds. Focus on the counting and repeat this technique until you feel yourself calming down. This will help you to get deeper breaths and will give your brain something else to focus on during the attack.
2) Work on loosening those tense muscles:
When we feel anxious, we can tense up without even realising it.
Press your chin down onto your chest and hold for five seconds before slowly bringing your head back up once more. Next, pull your head back and stretch your neck. Roll each shoulder gently until the knots ease. The feelings of constriction in your upper body are simply caused by your muscles tensing up
―and you have the power to control that and relax those muscles.
3) Release the thought which is making you anxious:
I realise this is easier said than done. However, there are ways to release the negative thoughts and there are certain techniques which can stop the anxiety from taking hold of you. Remember,
you control your body and your mind. You have the power to fix it.
So, how do you release the thoughts? There's a variety of ways. When I knew I was about to panic about some irrational fear, I used to change the scenario in my head to one that was OTT and extremely silly. For example, if I was afraid of being told off for something then I would imagine that person shouting at me in a Donald Duck voice. If you can laugh at your fears and make them as silly as possible then the thoughts stop being quite so real and you can move on from them.
During a panic attack, it also helps to actually listen to your thoughts. If you're panicking then stop fighting the thought and acknowledge that your body is having a panic attack. Don't try to push the thoughts away. The harder you try not to think about it, the more your brain will
want to think about it.
For example, I'm going to tell you right now that you absolutely must
not think about a hippo wearing a pink tutu.
So, what's the first thing your brain pictured just then? Probably a hippo wearing a pink tutu. That's because telling your brain it cannot do something automatically makes it fixate even more. You have to be a bit sneaky and allow yourself to think about the problem. That doesn't mean
sinking into the problem, of course. You're simply hearing your brain's complaint and then letting it go. You've listened to yourself and now you have no reason to hold onto that thought anymore. You can release it.
Something which I've found helpful is mentally asking, 'What are you trying to tell me, body?' By listening to yourself, you acknowledge the thought and can let go. You give yourself the
power to remove the fear.
4) Ground yourself:
Grip hold of the objects around you at the time. Notice how your feet feel when they're touching the carpeted floor, concentrate on how heavy your palms are when they're resting on the tops of your jeans, and live in the moment. Be mindful of everything around you and you will slowly be able to pull yourself out of the panic attack.
Tip: Try this technique whenever your mind starts to drift. In time, your thoughts will focus on the now, rather than fearing what could happen in the future.
4) Meditation:
I know meditation isn't for everyone but there's no doubt that it can have a calming effect on the brain. However, if you
―like me
―struggle to empty your thoughts then I recommend listening to music to help. I was most prone to panic attacks before bed, as my brain had more time to fixate on worries at that point, so I tend to put on some light relaxing music before attempting sleep.
In particular, I find Louise Hay's subliminal messaging CDs particularly helpful. Not only is the music highly relaxing, but her subliminal messages can also fix any issues with self-esteem or anxiety.
For more information on Louise Hay, check out her
website.
